Step 4: Brewing the Tea

Step 5: Milk and Drinking

Pour the tea from the pot into your teacup, leaving some room. During this step the leaves can be strained out. They have no ill effect on your heal...

Tea has been around for thousands of years. Legends of its discovery range from a tea leaf blowing into Chinese Emperor Shen Nung's boiling water to divine creation by the Buddha.

Traditionally, tea is brewed from whole leaves of the Camellia Sinensis plant. (All teas are made using this plant; the method in which they are prepared differentiates types of tea. Herbal teas, or tisanes, do not contain Camellia Senensis and are not technically classified as tea.) However, since the advent of the tea bag in the early 20th century, many have preferred to brew their tea using this much inferior method. One still needs to use loose leaves for a truly decent cup of tea.

The following instructions are based on George Orwell's method for preparing tea as described in "A Nice Cup of Tea." Read it.

Note: I realize that it might not make much sense to create these instructions since George Orwell already wrote them out perfectly well 66 years ago, but I believe that Orwell's essay lacks much explanation and a small amount of basic detail, as it was written for mid-20th century UK, a society that understood tea significantly better than is common across the globe today.

Step 1: Equipment

Step 2: Boiling Water

The water should be brought to a full boil before infusing the tea. These directions are for black tea. For white and green teas, water should be slightly below boiling.

One should make sure that there is enough water in the kettle before heating it over the stove, or turning it on if one has the electric sort. In my area the tap water is quite good, but if it contains excessive chemicals or minerals, you will want to use filtered or bottled water. Many suggest that only fresh water that has not been previously boiled should be used for tea; Orwell said he can not tell any difference.

At this point, one should also warm the teapot either by heating it on the stove or swilling hot water in it.

There is a story where Ben Franklin stopped at a tavern and asked if he could get some tea if it was properly smuggled in to the country (this was after the "Boston tea party" ) the answer was a resounding NO! lol The tea party is why coffee is most prevalent caffeine drink.

There is a story where Ben Franklin stopped at a tavern and asked if he could get some tea if it was properly smuggled in to the country (this was after the "Boston tea party" ) the answer was a resounding NO! lol The tea party is why coffee is most prevalent caffeine drink in America. Sorry forgot to add America...I need another cup of coffee...lol

Also, I've heard arguments that milk was traditionally poured in first to avoid damaging fine china with very hot tea. I couldn't prove this attest to this being myth or not though, I personally prefer to add milk second for the same reason you quote Orwell as suggesting. This also leads to the great Cornish vs Devon debate over scones.... jam or cream first?

I did a double-blind test with my father as the test subject to test whether or not milk before tea or the other way around made a difference. He preferred the tea with the milk before tea, and so did I. Also, I prefer my tea with two teaspoons of sugar. No more. Less is fine.

I'm quite a tea snob myself... so much so i don't even let my boyfriend make me Tea as he just can't get it right... I also bought one of these so if someone wanted to give it a go they could at least get it the right colour : http://www.firebox.com/product/1975/MyCuppa-Mugs

You mentioned that the water should be slightly below boiling for other, non-black teas... There is a chinese trick for determining the temperature of the water by looking at the bubbles or steam above the water... a 'pillar of steam' over the pot means it's about 170 Fahrenheit, 'fish eyes' when it's about 180. There are bubbles forming on the bottoms. 'String of Pearls' when it's about 195; these appear to be strands of bubbles that float to the surface. When it's boiling, they actually call it 'dead water'.

You also mentioned about the water... It's noticeable, to me, if you boil it twice or multiple times. When water is boiled, oxygen is being released, and this is part of what makes tea good. Now that I think of it, that may be a reason that black teas taste more astringent: there is less oxygen in it, and more hydrogen, which is what makes things acidic (hydrogen is the root of all acids - which means water is an acid).

This is a nice website for learning more about tea chemically and how it's prepared: http://www.teaclass.com/